Statin Study: No Impact on Cognition

Action Points

Note that this study was published as an abstract and presented at a conference. These data and conclusions should be considered to be preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.

A meta-analysis that included more than 40,000 patients found no indication that treatment with statins negatively impacted cognition.

Note that the early review did not find differences when it came to the type of statin, whether lipophilic or hydrophilic.

BOSTON -- A meta-analysis that included more than 40,000 patients found no indication that treatment with statins negatively impacted cognition, researchers reported here.

In responding to FDA concerns about possible adverse cognitive events, Brian Ott, MD, professor of medicine at Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI, said his review of the medical literature found no statistically significant differences in cognition between those patients on statins and patients not taking the cholesterol-lowering drugs.

"These results raise questions regarding the continued merit of the FDA warning about potential effects of statins on cognition," Ott told MedPage Today at his poster presentation at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference. "The issue has major public health implications due to decisions by patients and physicians to discontinue statin therapy in the primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular death and morbidity."

He said that when the FDA issued its report, "unfortunately, a lot of people took that to heart and stopped the statins on their own. That concerned me, so I wanted to look at the accumulated data. This is just our first look at the data and we don't really see anything."

Ott also said the early review did not show there were differences when it came to the type of statin, whether lipophilic or hydrophilic.

In commenting on the study, Gus Alva, MD, medical director of the ATP Clinical Research, Inc., told MedPage Today, "If I had a patient with high cholesterol I would always put them on statins. However, with older patients you have to be aware of muscle cramping that can be associated with statin use."

Ott and colleagues reviewed medical literature on the topic of reports of dementia or nervous system side effects in multiple clinical trials. For example, he cited the 17,802-person Jupiter study, in which dementia was observed in 12 (0.1%) of patients on rosuvastatin compared with 9 (0.1%) of patients on placebo. In the same study, adverse nervous system events were reported by 69 (0.8%) patients on rosuvastatin and by 76 (0.9%) of patients on placebo.

"Among over 468 other phase 2 or phase 3 randomized clinical trials that we reviewed, none reported adverse cognitive events," Ott said. "Overall, our preliminary meta-analyses of cognitive test data showed no significant effects on global cognition or on specific cognitive domains for subjects with normal cognition as well as those with Alzheimer's disease."

"Adverse cognitive outcomes attributable to statins were rarely if ever reported in randomized clinical trials," he said. "The systemic review was consistent with prior reviews finding no significant relationship between cognitive decline or adverse cognitive evens and the use of any statin drug in cognitively healthy people as well as those with dementia."

"Furthermore, the meta-analysis failed to show significant adverse effects of statins on cognition from the combined data in either patient group," he said. "The medical benefits of being on a statin far outweigh the possible [advent] of cognition problems."

Accessibility Statement

At MedPage Today, we are committed to ensuring that individuals with disabilities can access all of the content offered by MedPage Today through our website and other properties. If you are having trouble accessing www.medpagetoday.com, MedPageToday's mobile apps, please email legal@ziffdavis.com for assistance. Please put "ADA Inquiry" in the subject line of your email.